Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Friday morning.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on AMAT. Edward Jones raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley raised Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $162.00 to $158.00 in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “mixed” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.29.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $166.74 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $152.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $163.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $133.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.80, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. Applied Materials has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value of $65,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $880,131.91. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Hawaiian Bank grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.3% during the first quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 12,053 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,749,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 126.0% during the first quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,057 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,475,000 after purchasing an additional 9,509 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at about $34,455,000. Jacobi Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 12.3% during the first quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 21,093 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,061,000 after purchasing an additional 2,308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Capital Management LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 5.1% in the first quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 8,922 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,295,000 after acquiring an additional 436 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits.